1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a recycle managing system for managing recycle targeting goods to be returned from a customer to a retail store for a recycle, and more particularly, to a recycle managing system functioning also as a POS (point of sale) system.
2. Description of the Related Arts
With growing interest in an environmental protection, recycling activities become lively. As one example of the recycling activities, retail stores collect used containers for drinking water (PET bottles or the like), or recycle goods such as trays, packs, or the like, and provide stamp services, points restorable services, or the like for a customer.
In the stamp services, the retail store stamps a stamp card hand-held by a customer each time the customer carries in recycle goods. When reaching the predetermined number of stamps, the customer can enjoy services corresponding to the money or price.
On the other hand, in the case of the point restorable services, the retail store issues a point card to each customer, and each time the customer carries in recycle goods, the retail store restores points to the customer""s point card. The customer""s points are managed by the POS system introduced by the retail store. For example, when purchasing goods at the next time, etc., the customer can enjoy discount services in response to the points, or services having a monetary value in response to the points.
The retail stores conventionally bear the expenses to the services for such recycling activities.
On the other hand, the recycling activities which are carried out only between consumers and the retail stores as described above have a limit in the activities contents. Then, in order to accelerate more the recycling activities, in recent years, participation and cooperation of a supplier (containing a wholesaler and a manufacturer) in the recycling activities are being requested. Namely, the supplier bears the expenses to customer services such as points restoration, or the like, and further needs to take over the collected recycle targeting goods.
However, the conventional POS system for managing the recycling activities between the customers and retail stores cannot correspond to management of the above recycling activities which are carried out among the consumers, retail stores, and suppliers.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a recycle managing system and a recycle managing method which are carried out among the consumers, retail stores, and suppliers.
In order to solve the above-mentioned object, in the recycle managing system of the present invention, in the case where the recycle points restored to the consumers in response to returns of the recycle targeting goods are beard by the parties other than the retail stores, the payers and recycle points allocated to each payer are managed. Thus, it becomes possible to manage the recycling activities by the three parties of the consumers, retail stores, and suppliers which enlarge the recycling activities between the conventional consumers and retail stores.
In order to attain the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a recycle managing system comprising: A recycle managing system for managing recycle targeting goods to be returned from customers, comprising:
a database recording information for discriminating whether or not goods are the recycle targeting ones, and information of payers paying expense of the recycle targeting goods; and
a controller for referring to the database and for totaling the expense of the payers corresponding to the recycle targeting goods returned from the customers.
In order to attain the above object, according to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a recycle managing system for managing recycle targeting goods which are returned from customers to retail stores for a recycle, comprising:
a calculator for calculating recycle points equivalent to a monetary value with respect to returns of the recycle targeting goods;
a customer database for managing the recycle points of each customer of the retail store;
a payer database for managing the recycle points of each payer other than the retail store, which pays expenses equivalent to the recycle points; and
a renewing unit for renewing the recycle points of the customer returning the recycle targeting goods based on the calculated recycle points in the customer database, and further renewing the recycle points of the payer paying the expenses for the recycle points of the returned recycle targeting goods based on the calculated recycle points in the payer database.
Preferably, the recycle managing system of the present invention is a POS system which is introduced into the retail store.